Course Offerings

Students interested in taking courses that fulfill American Culture and Difference requirements can use the listings below to plan their curriculum.

The minor in American Culture and Difference consists of six courses (24 credits):

One core or "foundation" course in cultural studies -- ACST 200 Foundations of American Culture and Difference (four credits)

Five elective courses, no more than two courses from a single department (twenty credits)

Note: Other courses, including those offered at ACTC schools, may be approved for the minor. Please check with the director, Dr. Kanishka Chowdhury, if you have questions about courses that are not listed below.

Spring 2015 Courses

CRN: 20003
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Kanishka Chowdhury
In ACST 200, students learn about the historical and theoretical foundations of Cultural Studies as an academic discipline and use cultural theory to analyze a variety of cultural products and representations. In this course, students look specifically at dominant and subversive constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, national and sexual identities, and how these constructions are deployed through cultural practices and productions such as sports, film and television, folklore and popular culture, youth subcultures, music, and so on. For example, the course may contain units on "nation" and the creation of American mythologies; the process of hero-making in American history; stereotypes and the representation of race and ethnicity in television and film; representations of gender and sexuality in advertising; as well as a section on American music from jazz, blues, folk and roots music, to rock and roll, punk, and hip-hop. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum.

Schedule Details

CRN: 20685
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Bernard J. Armada
This course focuses on the creation and use of rhetoric in public persuasion settings, including social movements and political campaigns. The diversity of rhetorical acts examined may include campaign ads, speeches, films, advertisements, music, memorials, architecture and other nonverbal strategies. Topics of study may include: The rhetoric of domination and resistance, national identity formation, and the rhetoric of public memory. This course fulfills a requirement in American Culture and Difference. Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of instructor

Schedule Details

CRN: 20784
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Debra L. Petersen
This course focuses on theories and research of the historical and contemporary correlation between gender, race, class, and communicative practices, including rhetorical practice and mass communication content. It includes the influence of gender and racial stereotypes on public speech and debate, political campaigns and communication, organizational leadership, news coverage and advertising. Topics include: gendered perceptions of credibility; who is allowed to communicate and who is silenced due to class and racial privilege; and the impact of gender, race and class stereotypes about human nature, expertise, and abilities on individuals and groups that want to participate in public culture and communication. Students analyze and evaluate their own communicative styles in light of course readings and activities. This course fulfills a requirement in American Culture and Difference, Justice and Peace Studies, Women¿s Studies, and the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: COJO 211, or 212, or 213 or junior standing

Schedule Details

CRN: 21083
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Kevin O. Sauter
This course will provide students with the opportunity to understand television as a text situation in a cultural context. It will examine television from a critical perspective, review a wide variety of program genres and incorporate several theoretical orientations to the qualitative analysis of TV. Students, along with reading about and discussion of critical perspectives, watch programs such as comedies, dramas, news, advertisements, miniseries, etc., and write several critical analyses of the programs.

Schedule Details

CRN: 20786
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Buffy Smith
Race and ethnicity as significant components of U.S. social structure; the cognitive and normative aspects of culture which maintain and effect varying manifestations of social distance, tension, prejudice and discrimination between majority and minorities at both micro and macro levels, nationally and internationally. This course meets a requirement in American Cultural Studies and Justice and Peace Studies and fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: sophomore standing

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Summer 2015 Courses

CRN: 30317
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Anne E. Roth-Reinhardt
The study of significant American authors from the turn of the century to the present. This survey course will consider the diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts from which the American literary tradition has been formed. Possible authors studied include Hemingway, Faulkner, Hurston, Wright, Morrison, Cather, Wharton, Rich, and O'Neill. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

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Fall 2015 Courses

CRN: 41571
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: David T. Lawrence
In ACST 200, students learn about the historical and theoretical foundations of Cultural Studies as an academic discipline and use cultural theory to analyze a variety of cultural products and representations. In this course, students look specifically at dominant and subversive constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, national and sexual identities, and how these constructions are deployed through cultural practices and productions such as sports, film and television, folklore and popular culture, youth subcultures, music, and so on. For example, the course may contain units on "nation" and the creation of American mythologies; the process of hero-making in American history; stereotypes and the representation of race and ethnicity in television and film; representations of gender and sexuality in advertising; as well as a section on American music from jazz, blues, folk and roots music, to rock and roll, punk, and hip-hop. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum.

Schedule Details

CRN: 40733
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Dina Gavrilos
This course focuses on theories and research of the historical and contemporary correlation between gender, race, class, and communicative practices, including rhetorical practice and mass communication content. It includes the influence of gender and racial stereotypes on public speech and debate, political campaigns and communication, organizational leadership, news coverage and advertising. Topics include: gendered perceptions of credibility; who is allowed to communicate and who is silenced due to class and racial privilege; and the impact of gender, race and class stereotypes about human nature, expertise, and abilities on individuals and groups that want to participate in public culture and communication. Students analyze and evaluate their own communicative styles in light of course readings and activities. This course fulfills a requirement in American Culture and Difference, Justice and Peace Studies, Women¿s Studies, and the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: COJO 211, or 212, or 213 or junior standing

Schedule Details

CRN: 41807
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Dina Gavrilos
Society, Culture and the Media examines the role media play in social and cultural formations. The course looks beyond the media as transmitters of information to their broadest social and cultural effects. Students study media as agents of enlightened social modernism, as political and economic institutions, as purveyors of popular culture, and as aspects of cultural and sub-cultural rituals. History, political economy, critical studies, cultural anthropology, semiotics and sociology are among the areas from which approaches for studying the media are considered in the course. Prerequisite: COJO 211, 212 or 213, or permission of instructor

Schedule Details

CRN: 40640
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Andrew J. Scheiber
The study of significant American authors from the turn of the century to the present. This survey course will consider the diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts from which the American literary tradition has been formed. Possible authors studied include Hemingway, Faulkner, Hurston, Wright, Morrison, Cather, Wharton, Rich, and O'Neill. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

Schedule Details

CRN: 42471
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Anne Klejment
An introductory social history survey of African-American experience in global perspective. This course will cover developments from the beginnings of the trans-Atlantic slave trade through the present. Topics include: West African cultures; origins of the international slave trade; African American life in the colonies and during the Revolution; development of slavery in global comparative perspective; resistance to slavery; and the role of African Americans in the Civil War and Reconstruction eras; Jim Crow culture; African American culture; migration; black nationalism and independent Africa; the freedom movements of the North and South; and African American popular culture. This course fulfills the general education requirement in historical studies.

Schedule Details

CRN: 42472
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Anne Klejment
The sixties decade was one of the most controversial, transformative, and colorful in U.S. history. The course will analyze and evaluate the origins, development, and consequences of “the long sixties” reform and radicalism. Topics will include: relationship to the Old Left and the Christian Left, birth of the New Left and the Catholic Left, “silent” social transformations of the 1950s, civil rights and black power movements, peace movement, women's movement, and role of activist historians. Students will discuss common readings, make presentations and lead discussions, and design and write a sequenced research paper.

Schedule Details

CRN: 40239
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Christopher S. Kachian
The origins and history of jazz in the United States. Various phases in the development of jazz style are discussed. Blues, ragtime, Dixieland, swing, bop, cool jazz, fusion, as well as other recent developments in jazz performances are investigated. An essential part of the course is the analysis and evaluation of recorded performances by outstanding jazz musicians. Designed for non-majors as well as an elective for music majors interested in jazz. Offered fall semester. This course fulfills the Fine Arts and Human Diversity requirements in the core curriculum.

Schedule Details

CRN: 40323
4 Credit Hours
Instructor: Buffy Smith
Race and ethnicity as significant components of U.S. social structure; the cognitive and normative aspects of culture which maintain and effect varying manifestations of social distance, tension, prejudice and discrimination between majority and minorities at both micro and macro levels, nationally and internationally. This course meets a requirement in American Cultural Studies and Justice and Peace Studies and fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: sophomore standing

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Additional Approved Courses

Spring Semester 2015

ARTH 265-02 Art of Mesoamerica (CRN# 22522)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. William BarnesA survey of Pre-Columbian art and architecture of Ancient Mesoamerica (parts of present day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador). Specific artistic practices, iconography, and the cultural contexts of selected works of art and architecture will be covered. Course participants will be expected to address the significance of various culture groups within Mesoamerica and be able to discuss, in an informed manner, the salient characteristics and cultural context of select major works of art and architecture. This course fulfills the fine arts and human diversity requirements within the core curriculum.

ARTH 282-02 History of American Architecture (CRN# 22523)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. Victoria YoungA survey of high style and vernacular architecture in the United States from the Native Americans to the present day. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify the major themes and styles in American architecture; recognize major monuments and their designers; and understand how an American identity was projected in architecture. This includes understanding American architecture and its relationship to corresponding developments in art, landscape, and the urban fabric. Emphasis will be placed on structures in Minnesota and the upper Midwest. This course fulfills the Fine Arts requirement in the core curriculum.

COJO 332-01 Documentary: American Culture (CRN# 22526)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Luann LippoldThis course provides an overview of documentary television and film as part of American culture. Class sessions will focus on how to analyze and interpret claims particular documentaries make, while providing a foundation for understanding aesthetic, rhetorical, and political economic conventions that help shape the meaning of each documentary. To this end, this course will center on current theoretical dilemmas and debates in documentary filmmaking, including questions of how to define documentary, what constitutes the ethical treatment of documentary subjects and subject matter, and how documentaries construct and position audiences. We will explore the concepts of reality, truth and authority, through a variety of readings and viewings.

ENGL 214-01 American Authors I (CRN# 20638)M/W 1:35-3:10pmProf. Andrew ScheiberorENGL 214-02 American Authors I (CRN# 21839)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Kelli LarsonThe study of significant American authors from the beginnings of American literature to the turn of the twentieth century. This survey course will consider the diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts from which the American literary tradition has arisen. Possible authors studied include Hawthorne, Douglass, Jacobs, Fuller, Dickinson, Clemens, Jewett, Cooper, Wheatley, Whitman, and Native American voices. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

ENGL 390-61 Literary Figure: James Baldwin (CRN# 21833)M/W 1:35-3:10pmProf. Todd LawrenceThe late Amiri Baraka, in his 1987 eulogy for James Baldwin, claimed that the writer had “traveled the earth like its history and its biographer,” and “made us better, made us consciously human or perhaps more acidly pre human.” Baraka, who had once viciously attacked Baldwin because of his queer identity, had grown to revere him as one of the most insightful and honest cultural critics of the 20th century. This course will approach Baldwin in this way, not just as a major figure of American literature, but as a visionary and screaming prophet. We will explore Baldwin the paradox, Baldwin the exile, Baldwin the critic, Baldwin the racial philosopher, and Baldwin the clear-eyed American-ologist. In confronting the joy, pain, violence, horror, and truth of works such as Giovanni's Room, Blues for Mr. Charlie, The Fire Next Time, Nobody Knows My Name, Another Country, and others, we will survey the muddy cultural terrain of late 20th century America as Baldwin saw it, one that we all remain mired in and perhaps still do not understand, guided by an artist whose sole conviction was to be simply “an honest man and a good writer.” This course satisfies the Diversity Literature requirement for English majors. Prerequisite: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

HIST 298-03 Church in Latin America (CRN# 21253)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Kari Zimmerman/Prof. Angela SenanderorHIST 298-04 Church in Latin America (CRN# 22150)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. Kari Zimmerman/Prof. Angela SenanderIn this course we will study Christian theology and practice in a context of great suffering and struggle. We analyze the various forms that Christianity has taken in Latin America from the period of the Spanish Conquest to the present. We will study the history of the Church in Latin America, but more importantly we will examine the theological issues raised in each era to see how Christians have lived their faith under different circumstances. As we examine the complex interplay of Church, poverty, and power in Latin American history, we will examine theologies and spiritualities of evangelization, liberation, martyrdom, poverty, and the Church. We will also study and critique specifically Latin American methods and approaches to the theological task itself. Finally, we will examine the coming of the Latin American Church to the United States through immigration. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: THEO 101 (or 102 and 103) and one 200-level or 300-level THEO course, and PHIL 115

HIST 355-01 Civil War Era (CRN# 22153)M/W/F 10:55am-12:00pmProf. David WilliardThe American Civil War was a pivotal event, followed by incomplete efforts at changing the shape of the nation through Reconstruction. The causes of the war, its conduct on both sides, and the consequences of this "War of Rebellion," including Reconstruction, form the three parts of this course. Prerequisite: One 100-level history course

HIST 366-01 History of American Catholic Church (CRN# 22155)T/R 8:00-9:40amProf. Anne KlejmentorHIST 366-02 History of American Catholic Church (CRN# 22899)M/W/F 10:55am-12:00pmProf. Anne KlejmentAnalysis of the American Catholic church from the mission era through the post Vatican II period, with emphasis on the diverse populations who have comprised the American Catholic church throughout its history. The focus of the course examines the changing relationship between Catholics, their church, and American society. Topics analyzed include anti-Catholicism and nativism; slavery and other forms of racial and ethnic injustice; economic justice and peace; ethnic and gendered spiritualities; the nature of the pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II Catholic church. Extensive use of sources generated by minority American Catholics emphasize the rich thought and religious experiences of Catholics from diverse backgrounds. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: One 100-level history course

HIST 464-01 Capstone: Labor in the Atlantic World (CRN# 22156)T/R 3:25-5:00pmProf. Kari ZimmermanThis seminar examines the major historical interpretations of labor in the Atlantic World from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries. The Atlantic Ocean served as a crossroads for new forms and concepts of economic activity between Europe, Africa, North and South America. Situating our interpretation within this Atlantic World, the course reconsiders how we define labor history and its influences. Students will critically analyze how key issues in labor can transcend geographical boundaries as well as conceptual frameworks such as race, ethnicity, gender and class. After discussing the historiography and methodology of investigations on both labor and the Atlantic World, students will conduct their own research on work within a global context. History seminars involve students (primarily, though not exclusively, majors and minors) with the methodological and historiographical dimensions of research in the seminar's topic. Students in the seminar will complete and present to other members of the class a significant research project. Prerequisites: at least three History courses numbered 200 or above, including at least one of the following: HIST 240, 241, 244, 253, 348, 349.

IDSC 291-01 Anatomy of Violence (CRN# 20177)Tuesdays 6:00-9:15pmProf. Paul SchnellThe purpose of this course is to increase the knowledge and understanding of cultural, racial and interpersonal violence and develop a commitment to promoting a violence-free society. Emphasis is on exploration of the extent, causes and effects of violence and strategies for intervention on the micro and macro levels. Specific areas of study include domestic/partner abuse, child abuse/neglect, peer/date violence, elder abuse, sexual assault/sexual harassment, cultural violence, racism and other systemic oppression. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum.

JPST 280-01 Active Nonviolence (CRN# 20540)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Jack Nelson-PallmeyerActive nonviolence as a means for societal defense and social transformation analyzed through case studies of actual nonviolent movements, examining their political philosophy and how this philosophy is reflected in their methods and strategies. Examples of possible case studies include: Mahatma Gandhi's movement for a free India, Danish resistance to Nazi occupation, the struggle for interracial justice in the United State, an integrated Canada-to-Cuba peace-and-freedom walk, the campaign to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas (WHINSEC), fair trade movements, and the Honeywell Project. The course emphasizes the theory and active practice of nonviolence as well as oral histories of successful nonviolent movements. Usually offered every semester.

JPST 355 -01 Public Policy Analysis & Advocacy (CRN# 21348)T/R 3:25-5:00pmProf. Jack Nelson-PallmeyerIn this class students will investigate how and why particular policies are developed, proposed, adopted, and implemented; will explore how social values shape and impact public policies; and will learn how to frame issues in ways that allow for more effective advocacy. The class will examine the relative power of diverse corporate and non-profit sectors in influencing policy debates and outcomes, including the role of think tanks. Students will analyze the limitations and strengths of diverse approaches to advocacy ranging from third-party appeals and solidarity efforts to elite decision makers, as well as the prospects for a politics of agency rooted in citizen-centered politics in which people mobilize to meet the needs of their communities. The course will integrate basic theory, interaction with public policy analysts and advocates, personal experience in persuasive advocacy, and case studies focused on issues such as climate change, economic inequality, land-food-hunger, and approaches to health care. Assignments will introduce students to various tools for persuasive advocacy and allow them to develop skill sets for using them.

JPST 375-01 Conflict Analysis and Transformation (CRN# 21350)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. Amy FinneganAn introduction to issues surrounding conflict and the resolution of conflict in today's world focusing primarily on its contextual manifestation at the international, regional and intrastate levels. The course will explore important structural, social and psychological explanations of conflict. Attention will be given to ethnic and nationalist themes surrounding conflicts and their resolution at the intrastate and international levels. The course will examine how different types of intervention affect conflicts (the media, force, other types of third party intervention). Effective methods that foster an environment conducive to resolving or managing disputes will be studied. As part of the final task, the course will critically study how institutions such as power-sharing arrangements, federalism, and the rule of law figure into establishing a lasting basis for peaceful co-existence. For Justice and Peace Studies majors doing a concentration in Conflict Transformation, the course will complement JPST 370 Conflict Mediation, but there are no prerequisites and the course is open to students in other majors.

MUSC 133-01 Music of the U.S.: Aural and Written (CRN# 20528)Wednesdays 5:30-7:00pmProf. Sarah SchmalenbergerThis course focuses on the study of U.S. music within its cultural context. The course, with its emphasis on listening analysis, and vocabulary development will contain 1) music of aural traditions to include jazz, popular, and ethnic music and 2) music of written traditions to include art music and jazz. Prerequisite: Music majors or permission of instructor. Please note that this is a 2-credit course.

POLS 205-01 Intro to American Public Policy Process (CRN# 20326)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Angela High-PippertA survey of the way public policy is made in the American political system including agenda-setting, formulation of alternative policy choices, representation of interests and selection and implementation of policy options. Public policy case studies will be used as illustrations. Students also will be introduced to data analysis as a tool for policy evaluation. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of the instructor

POLS 275-01 Intro to American Political Thought (CRN# 20328)M/W/F 1:35-2:40pmProf. Steve HoffmanThe course offers a survey of important American political themes, essays, and writers. Critical foundational documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as debates and speeches central to American political thought, including the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Gettysburg Address, and great political speeches of the 20th century, are examined. Mainstream writers such as Jefferson, Thoreau, Dewey, Debs, Mencken, and Walzer are reviewed as well as generally overlooked women and minority writers such as Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady-Stanton. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of the instructor.

POLS 302-01 Women and Politics (CRN# 22134)M/W/F 12:15-1:20pmProf. Angela High-PippertAn examination of the political involvement of women. Topics include: the representation of women, feminism as a social movement, the campaign strategies and styles of women candidates, the election of women to local, state, and national office, and the differences that women make in public office. Emphasis is on women in the United States, but comparisons will be made with women in other countries. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of instructor

SOCI 350-01 Social Inequality: Privilege and Power (CRN# 20657)M/W/F 9:35-10:40amProf. Buffy SmithThis course identifies and investigates the following topics: general principles of stratification, theoretical explanations by which inequality emerges and is maintained, the relationship between social class and other forms of inequality in the United States including gender, race, and changes in social hierarchy over time. The course will explore issues such as poverty, welfare, occupational prestige, meritocracy, and class prestige. Although primary focus is on the United States, the course also examines global inequality. Prerequisite: SOCI 100 or SOCI 110 and Junior standing.

SPAN 415-01 Hispanic Cinema Studies (CRN# 22163)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. Juli KrollExamination of the cinematic arts as they relate to the cultures and literatures of the Spanish-speaking World. Course topics may include some of the following: gender, class, and/or ethnicity/race in Hispanic Cinema, discussion of film techniques, narrative structures, major directors, cinematic movements of Spain, Latin America, and/or U.S. Latino film, or the relationship of film to history, culture and society. May be taken twice with different topics. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisites: Successful completion of SPAN 300, 301, 305 and 335 or their equivalents with a C- or better in each course.

THEO 231-01 American Catholicism (CRN# 22588)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Massimo FaggioliThis course emphasizes the impact of cultures on one another in the growth of the Catholic community in today's United States. These world and theological views and their practical applications in the piety, politics, and everyday life of Catholics will be the primary focus. By summarizing significant events and characters in the history of the Catholic experience, the student will develop an understanding both of the different ethnic experiences and the theological concerns which created a pluralism among American Catholics that makes the Church of the United States truly catholic. Prerequisite: THEO 101 (or 102 and 103)

THEO 455-01 Church in Latin America (CRN# 22166)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Angela Senander/Prof. Kari ZimmermanorTHEO 455-02 Church in Latin America (CRN# 22167)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. Angela Senander/Prof. Kari ZimmermanIn this course we will study Christian theology and practice in a context of great suffering and struggle. We analyze the various forms that Christianity has taken in Latin America from the period of the Spanish Conquest to the present. We will study the history of the Church in Latin America, but more importantly we will examine the theological issues raised in each era to see how Christians have lived their faith under different circumstances. As we examine the complex interplay of Church, poverty, and power in Latin American history, we will examine theologies and spiritualities of evangelization, liberation, martyrdom, poverty, and the Church. We will also study and critique specifically Latin American methods and approaches to the theological task itself. Finally, we will examine the coming of the Latin American Church to the United States through immigration. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisite: THEO 101 (or 102 and 103) and one 200-level or 300-level THEO course, and PHIL 115

Summer 2015 (June 8-29)

IDSC 299-01 HECUA: Race in America (Contact UST Study Abroad Office to Register)Study Abroad in Jackson, MississippiHECUA InstructorThe summer of 2014 saw the beginning of a dramatic shift in public conversation around race in the United States. As the tragic deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, and other unarmed black men dominated the news, powerful protests forced Americans to confront the twin realities of institutionalized racism and police brutality. Protests spilled onto the highways of major cities, occupied shopping malls, and dominated digital spaces, framing dissent around a single rallying cry, originally posted as a Facebook status by 33 year old Alicia Garza: "Black lives matter."

Race in America: Then and Now dives into questions of racial justice in America today, and the continuing role of race in the United States. Students meet with civil rights activists who were active in the 1960s, and those who are active now, as well as lawyers, politicians, educators and youth. Field experiences open up connections among issues related to education, incarceration, distribution of wealth, health care, housing, employment, and the environment. By the end of the month, students have a profound understanding of the Civil Rights Movement and its motivations, strategies, successes and failures. They have also developed ways to make meaningful contributions to their own communities.

The program is based in Jackson, Mississippi, and is offered in collaboration with the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at COFO on the campus of Jackson State University, one of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Hamer Institute advocates civic engagement and popular sovereignty through the study of the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Mississippi typified the “Deep South” during the era of Jim Crow, and in many ways continues to be racially and politically divided. In and near Jackson and during trips to Alabama, Tennessee, and the Gulf Coast (including New Orleans), students also explore current issues related to health, education, culture, and community organizing.

While staying on the campus of Jackson State University, students are housed in dorm rooms. Lodging on the road will be in hotels or on other college/university campuses.The program fee covers course credits, round-trip airfare from any major U.S. city to Jackson, ground travel to field sites, all lodging, most meals, course reading packets, and admission to museums and sites. The fee also includes multi-day trips to Alabama, Tennessee, and the Gulf Coast.

The fee does not cover incidental expenses (souvenirs, extra food, etc.). Also, air travel is restricted between the student's airport of departure and Jackson; additional flights will not be arranged from Jackson at the end of the program. For additional information, check out the HECUA website.

Summer Session II (July 13-August 20, 2015)

POLS 205-01 Intro to American Public Policy Process (CRN# 30424) T/R 1:00-5:00pm Prof. Angela High-PippertA survey of the way public policy is made in the American political system including agenda-setting, formulation of alternative policy choices, representation of interests and selection and implementation of policy options. Public policy case studies will be used as illustrations. Students also will be introduced to data analysis as a tool for policy evaluation. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of the instructor

Fall Semester 2015

ARTH 323-01 Colonial Art of Latin America (CRN# 42732)T/R 1:30-3:10pmProf. William BarnesThis course is designed to provide an understanding of the foundation of the arts of Spanish-speaking Latin America. Its focus will be the development of the arts from the time of the Spanish entrada in the late 15th century through the time of the independence movements of the 19th century and beyond. In general, it will focus on Early Colonial and Viceregal New Spain and Peru. At the close of this course participants will be expected to approach any period of Latin American art with a deeper awareness of its historical context and an increased sense of analytical confidence. This course fulfills the fine arts and human diversity requirements within the core curriculum.

COJO 332-01 Documentary: American Culture (CRN# 42814)M 6:00-9:30pmProf. Luann LippoldThis course provides an overview of documentary television and film as part of American culture. Class sessions will focus on how to analyze and interpret claims particular documentaries make, while providing a foundation for understanding aesthetic, rhetorical, and political economic conventions that help shape the meaning of each documentary. To this end, this course will center on current theoretical dilemmas and debates in documentary filmmaking, including questions of how to define documentary, what constitutes the ethical treatment of documentary subjects and subject matter, and how documentaries construct and position audiences. We will explore the concepts of reality, truth and authority, through a variety of readings and viewings.

ENGL 217-01 Multicultural Literature (CRN# 40449)M/W/F 9:35-10:40amProf. Todd LawrenceThis course will focus on extensive reading of a broad selection of authors drawn from the literature of one of the following: (a) American communities of color; (b) postcolonial peoples; (c) diasporic peoples. Students will engage in close analysis of literary texts from at least one such literary tradition, with some attention to historical and cultural contexts. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

ENGL 371-01 19th-Century American Literature (CRN# 42429)M/W/F 12:15-1:20pmProf. Laura ZebuhrThis course offers an intensive focus on selected aspects of American literature from the early Romantic movement (approximately 1820) to the turn of the twentieth century. Attention will be given to the diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts that inform the literature being studied, as well as to relevant critical approaches and issues. Possible authors studied include Emerson, Fuller, Douglass, Clemens, Dickinson. Prerequisites: ENGL 201, 202, 203, or 204

IDSC 455-458 Writing for Social Change (Contact UST Study Abroad Office to Register)NOTE: This course is 16 credits; 8 credits may be applied towards the American Culture & Difference minor.HECUA Faculty, Taught at off-campus locationWriting for Social Change is based on the longstanding tradition in Western culture of using literature as a tool for social critique, as a means of calling for social change and justice, and as a tool for social transformation. The program combines traditional methods of literary and cultural analysis with creative writing workshops in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, and makes use of HECUA’s approach to interdisciplinary, reflective critique. The program explores the ways creative writers and literature impact communities, and examines the role creative writers and literature play in addressing pressing social issues. Writing for Social Change combines critical, analytical seminars, creative writing workshops, field study, and a professional internship with a Twin Cities nonprofit, literary arts organization, or K-12 school in need of reading/writing tutors, to give students an integrated, experiential learning opportunity. For additional information, check out the HECUA website.

JPST 280-01 Active Nonviolence (CRN# 40572)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Jack Nelson-PallmeyerActive nonviolence as a means for societal defense and social transformation analyzed through case studies of actual nonviolent movements, examining their political philosophy and how this philosophy is reflected in their methods and strategies. Examples of possible case studies include: Mahatma Gandhi's movement for a free India, Danish resistance to Nazi occupation, the struggle for interracial justice in the United State, an integrated Canada-to-Cuba peace-and-freedom walk, the campaign to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas (WHINSEC), fair trade movements, and the Honeywell Project. The course emphasizes the theory and active practice of nonviolence as well as oral histories of successful nonviolent movements. Usually offered every semester.

JPST 365-01 Leadership for Social Justice (CRN# 41586)T/R 3:25-5:00pmProf. Michael KleinLeadership for Social Justice examines the arc of leadership through the process of creating, sustaining, then institutionalizing positive social change. The course examines models and case studies of authoritative, positional, influential and situational leadership in diverse settings such as community organizing, social movements, social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management. The course also explores approaches to ethical leadership and provides opportunities for students to develop the skills and vision needed to become ethical leaders for social justice. Students will analyze the role of leadership in the tensions between preserving order and promoting transformation. They will develop a critical approach to the dynamics of power in order to effect systemic change.

MUSC 162-01 Roots of Blues, Rock, Country (CRN# 40812)M/W 1:35-3:10Prof. Mark SchroepferThis course traces the development of American popular music from its roots through multiple genres such as minstrelsy, jazz, big band, swing, crooning, jump blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, country, western, folk/protest, and rock 'n' roll, concluding with the British Invasion. Popular music development is critically examined through four interrelated driving forces: identity (ethnicity, gender, culture, generation), centers vs. peripheries (the established vs. the innovative), technology (impact on musical performance and listening), and business/law (commercial competition and development). Multimedia presentations include extensive audio and video support. Designed for the Popular Music minor, this course fulfills the Fine Arts and Human Diversity requirements in the core curriculum.

POLS 205-01 Intro to American Public Policy Process (CRN# 40296)T/R 9:55-11:35amProf. Angela High-PippertA survey of the way public policy is made in the American political system including agenda-setting, formulation of alternative policy choices, representation of interests and selection and implementation of policy options. Public policy case studies will be used as illustrations. Students also will be introduced to data analysis as a tool for policy evaluation. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of the instructor

POLS 275-01 Intro to American Political Thought (CRN# 40298)M/W/F 12:15-1:20pmProf. Steve HoffmanThe course offers a survey of important American political themes, essays, and writers. Critical foundational documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as debates and speeches central to American political thought, including the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Gettysburg Address, and great political speeches of the 20th century, are examined. Mainstream writers such as Jefferson, Thoreau, Dewey, Debs, Mencken, and Walzer are reviewed as well as generally overlooked women and minority writers such as Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady-Stanton. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of the instructor.

POLS 301-01 American Political Behavior (CRN# 42483)M/W/F 9:35-10:40amProf. Angela High-PippertAn examination of the political attitudes and behavior of the public, as well as the linkages between the public and their government. Topics include: public opinion; political psychology; political participation; voting; elections; political parties; interest groups; and the mass media. The emphasis is on the American system, but comparisons will be made with other democratic systems. Attention also will be paid to survey research as a principal method by which these topics are studied. Prerequisite: POLS 104 or permission of instructor

SOCI 110-01 Social Problems (CRN# 40319)M/W/F 8:15-9:20amProf. Buffy SmithORSOCI 110-02 Social Problems (CRN# 42451)M/W/F 9:35-10:40amProf. Buffy SmithContemporary society is confronted with a number of serious problems that are often global in their impact. This course explores the causes, effects, and proposed solutions to some of these major social issues. Special attention is given to issues of inequality (such as racism, sexism, and poverty) and problems in core institutions (such as family violence, unequal educational opportunities, and unemployment). This course meets a requirement in the Justice and Peace Studies program and fulfills the Social Analysis and Human Diversity requirements in the core curriculum.

SOCI 350-01 Social Inequality: Privilege and Power (CRN# 40323)M/W/F 9:35-10:40amProf. Buffy SmithThis course identifies and investigates the following topics: general principles of stratification, theoretical explanations by which inequality emerges and is maintained, the relationship between social class and other forms of inequality in the United States including gender, race, and changes in social hierarchy over time. The course will explore issues such as poverty, welfare, occupational prestige, meritocracy, and class prestige. Although primary focus is on the United States, the course also examines global inequality. Prerequisite: SOCI 100 or SOCI 110 and Junior standing.